Scotland is ideal for tree growth, thanks to its mild winters, plentiful rainfall, fertile soil and hill-sheltered topography.[1][2] As of 2019 about 18.5% of the country was wooded. Although this figure is well below the European Union (EU) average of 43%, it represents a significant increase compared to the figure of 100 years previously: in 1919 (at the end of the Great War) it was estimated that only 5% of the country's total land area was covered in forest.[3] The Scottish Government's Draft Climate Change Plan has set an aim of increasing coverage to 21% of Scotland by 2032, with the rate of afforestation rising to 15,000 hectares per year by 2024.[4]
Approximately 4,700 km2 of Scotland's forests and woodlands are publicly owned by the Scottish Government via Forestry and Land Scotland, and these are termed the National Forest Estate.[5] As of 2015, forestry contributed almost £1 billion to the Scottish economy, and the industry employed over 25,000 people.[6]